


Epiphaneia

by woolfverse



Series: Woolfverse [10]
Category: Temeraire - Novik
Genre: 1990s, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Epiphany, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Next-Gen, POV Third Person, Past Tense, identity crisis, mail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-27
Updated: 2010-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-07 14:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woolfverse/pseuds/woolfverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Temeraire receives crayon drawings in the mail, and Laurence chooses to do the honourable thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Epiphaneia

"Something in the post for you, Temeraire," Will called as he came into the flat. Everything else appeared to be bills, from a quick rifling through the envelopes; they could be set aside for the time being.

Temeraire made it into the kitchen from his bedroom in the span of seconds, the promise of a letter apparently enough to send him ricocheting across the flat in a fashion primarily curious to teenage boys. "What is it?"

Will glanced down at the return address as he handed it to Temeraire, raising an eyebrow as he read it. "It's from--my brother," he said, unable to conceal the surprise in his voice. George had been in the same room as Temeraire on several consecutive occasions, but as far as Will could recall, they had not actually _interacted_ beyond handshakes.

"Well, that is very kind of your brother." Temeraire took a seat--on the edge of the dining room table rather than one of the chairs--and tore the envelope open without much grace.

Out came three folded sheets of paper. The first two were brightly coloured crayon drawings; Will was not entirely sure what they depicted, but he could make out the wobbly letters G E O R D I E scrawled along the bottom of one of them, and P E R R Y along the other. The third sheet of paper was a short note in Elizabeth's hand.

"Dear Temeraire," Temeraire read aloud, "Geordie was so pleased that you could make it to his fourth birthday party that he and Perry wanted to make you birthday cards like the one you brought for him. I told them that I'm not sure when your birthday is, but they insisted, so you may consider these either late or early gifts, depending." He fell silent, reading the rest, then handed the letter to Will and bent his head over the drawings as though attempting to decode them.

After glancing over the remaining portion of the letter, it was easy to comprehend why. Elizabeth had recorded the meaning behind the artwork, along with mentioning that she'd helped the boys write their names, hand over hand, in case they began to wonder if they were prodigies at three and four years old. Will joined Temeraire in puzzling over the crayon marks, though he elected to pull out a chair rather than seat himself on the tabletop.

"I think," Temeraire said slowly, "that in this one, I am the blue circle with the stick legs pointing out from under me, because that looks like a cake, and it _is_ meant to be my birthday."

"Then I suppose that would be the dinosaur," Will answered, pointing to a green blob beneath the cake. "And in the other one?"

"I am not entirely sure." Temeraire frowned. "We might have to go to see Geordie and ask him."

"I do not doubt he would be happy to see you, my dear."

And that was a good thing, Will concluded later, while staring at a page of his dogeared copy of _The Mauritius Command_; reading seemed beyond him tonight, even in the form of one of his favourite novels. His nephews' obvious fondness for Temeraire further cemented his right to be present at family gatherings, however little Will's father might like the fact. Temeraire's continued attendance at holidays was already assured, as far as Will was concerned, but the fact that Temeraire was so willing to indulge in the children's attention gave strong argument for his presence. And now if only there was credible reason for Tharkay's coming along, which seemed far more likely now that Will was on land long enough to consider a serious relationship.

With a start, Will set the book down on the bedspread next to him, the implication of his thoughts at once painfully clear. What would he tell his family, should that become the case? That Tharkay was a bachelor friend somehow acquired at work without family of his own on Christmas? He could not think of another explanation off the top of his head. And if--_if_, he repeated silently, for there was no reason to think their relationship would last longer than it had last time, however well things were currently going--Tharkay was to attend several years in a row, or come to other family events, it would be a threadbare excuse by the time things were done between them.

It was no more than a lie, one without honour to it no matter how he examined the situation. More importantly, it was a grave insult to Tharkay, a deception he could not imagine the man would stand for. Had it come to this, that he must invent stories to obscure the nature of their relationship?

The only honourable way to proceed was both obvious and somewhat disagreeable: he must inform his family about Tharkay, and by extension, his other previous relationships. After nearly ten years of carefully evading questions about possible girlfriends on the rare occasions he was home, he must be candid.

It was far past time for him to come out.

Will pulled out the elastic band holding back his hair without much care and rubbed the back of his head. That his father would be displeased by the news was a massive understatement; Will's current choice of partner would likely only add insult to injury, for if Allendale disliked Temeraire, he would surely hate Tharkay. His mother and brothers' opinions, he could not predict with such dark certainty, but they seemed to him more hopeful prospects.

It would have to be done in person; such an announcement would be cowardly in a letter or a phone call. More importantly, a meeting in person was far less immediate than any other option, as there was no way he could justify a trip to Wollaton a week before exams. He would have time to plan, to discuss with Tharkay, and--if he was truly honest with himself--to strengthen his resolve.

**Author's Note:**

> Set in late 1998. This is the first part of a specific story arc that continues through the next four stories directly after it.


End file.
